Blood of Jesus

Jesus is the Door

Can you imagine walking into the throne room of heaven? 

What a magnificent experience!

What a fearful experience!

What a glorious experience!

Can you imagine standing before the creator of the universe in all HIS glory. The presence of HIS glory would be overwhelming. The colors must be immense, the beauty beyond our wildest imagination and the brightness of his presence blinding. And just imagine how huge and magnificent the God of all creation must be if the earth is but his footstool. (Isaiah 66:1)

As magnificent as he is, he still wants us to come boldly into this throne room without fear!

Hebrews 4:16, “… come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (NKJV)

Jesus made the way for us!

Why would he do that? Simply because he loves us. He sympathizes with our weakness and understands us because he was tempted as we were and yet did not sin. Because of that HE has made a way for US to come into the presence of God. Sin had broken a relationship with the Lord. But Jesus made a way for us to have a relationship with the Lord, just as Adam had in the beginning.

Before Jesus, only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies which was located in the Jewish Temple and protected by a veil. He would sacrifice an animal and pour that blood on the mercy seat, requesting mercy for the sins of the people.

NOW WE can come boldly to the throne room itself and ask for mercy without the priest. WHY? Because when Jesus died that veil was ripped in half, physically and spiritually.

Matthew 27: 51 “Suddenly the curtain in the temple was split in two from top to bottom.” (GWT)

Jesus made a way. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” John 14:6 (NIV)

Jesus is the ONLY way to the Father. He is the only way into the throne room of grace. His name has authority. HE IS THE DOOR!

You often hear people pray, “in the name of Jesus”. It isn’t because Jesus’ name is magical. It is because there is authority in his name.  He even mentioned in John 14 that if you ask the FATHER for ANYTHING in my name I will do it so that the Father may be glorified.

“By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.” Hebrews 10:20

This is how I envision it:

 When the name of Jesus is spoken in authority, I see a door literally open into the throne room of heaven before the Father. We boldly walk through that access into the very throne room before the Father, the creator of the universe. And who is opening that door? Jesus is…HIS blood is…HIS redemption is.

YOU HAVE ACCESS INTO THE THRONE ROOM OF HEAVEN!

What is it you need? Do you need healing? Do you need hope? Do you need peace? What is it that you are asking the Lord?

You have access to come BOLDLY…without shame, before the Father and ask anything because the name of Jesus has given you that access.

I pray that God meets your every need, IN JESUS NAME. Amen

COVID-19

As I was thinking about the virus that has been sweeping the world, one nation at a time, the first thought that came to me was the scene in the Old Testament of a pole with a snake on it. I’m not sure why but that scene has not left my mind.

“But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”

 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.  The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So, Moses prayed for the people.

The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.” Numbers 21: 4-8 (NIV)

According to https://biblestudentdaily.com bronze represents human nature. The Lord had Moses make a bronze snake (snake representing sin) on the pole. All that looked on it would not die from the poisonous snake bites that the Lord had sent because of their sin of speaking against Him. It wasn’t that the bronze snake itself, had any power, but God saw the repentant and obedient hearts. Faith rose up in the hearts of the people and healing and life sprung from that.

Even Jesus used the example of the serpent on the pole as he spoke about himself. He said in John 3:14, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness so the Son of Man must be lifted up that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” (NIV)

He spoke of how he would die. Anyone that looks on him and BELIEVES will be saved from eternal death. I believe John 3:16 must be one of the most popular verses of all time.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever BELIEVES on him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

He was sent to the cross to save us because we sinned against the Lord. He came to bring life out of death.

Then in Numbers 16 a plague came to the children of Israel again because they grumbled and opposed Moses and even God who was leading him. This time the Lord told Moses to direct Aaron to take his censor (which I might add was also made of bronze) and put incense in it along with burning coals from the altar and run into the midst of the assembly to make atonement for the people so the plague would stop. Aaron did as he was instructed and stood between the living and the dead and the plague stopped. But 14,700 died.

You might ask. What does this have to do with this virus that is creeping across the nations? This was thousands of years ago. Is the Lord sending this plague because of sin and unbelief? I am NOT saying that. It would be very dangerous for me to make that assumption.

BUT what I am saying is that the Lord CAN and will stop this virus IF we call upon him! There is power in prayer. There is power in coming before the God of creation and calling on him to intervene.

When the plagues hit Egypt, it was the blood of a sacrificed lamb that was posted on the doorway of each Israelite household that signaled the angel of death to pass over them. No one in that household would die.

There is so much more power in the blood of the LAMB. The blood that Jesus shed. I do not think we understand the power of the blood of Christ. It was by his stripes that we can be healed.

As the old hymn goes,
“There is power, power, wonder-working power in the blood of the Lamb.
There is power, power, wonder-working power in the Precious blood of the Lamb.”

I had a dream years ago that a lion was roaring in the forest. He was sniffing for people to devour. I knew my children were in that forest. I prayed that the Lord would cover them by his blood. I saw the lion come right up to them, sniffing, but he could not smell them, nor see them, because of the blood of Jesus.

It reminded me of the verse found in 1 Peter 5:8. “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”

So, what is the takeaway?

  1. Run to the Lord. Look to him, like the Israelites looked at the snake on a pole. He is your protector. He is your deliverer. He is your savior. He will heal you. NONE of this is catching him off guard one single minute. He sees it all.
  2. There is POWER in prayer. There is POWER in the blood of Jesus. Believe it and stand firm in prayer. Pray for your family, your neighbor, your city and nation. And if there is sin: repent.
  3. “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind.” II Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) So rest in him. Trust him. He has you covered.

ABOVE ALL remember this scripture:

 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.” John 14:1 (NLT)